Disassembly and Reassembly of the Ruger LCP Pistol

The main objections I’ve heard concerning Ruger semi-autos for concealed carry or law-enforcement backup have nothing to do with reliability or performance. The complaints are usually "too heavy" or "too bulky." Or both.

But those objections are no longer valid’not since the introduction of the Ruger LCP. (LCP stands for lightweight compact pistol.) Actually, that introduction came at the 2007 SHOT Show, but the pistol didn’t get rolling off the production line until this year, so I held up writing this until it was readily available on dealer shelves. The LCP is not at all like the other Ruger autoloader, the well-known P- Series. The LCP is link-less, utilizing instead a locked-breech action and a tilting barrel.

Upon firing, the barrel and slide are firmly interlocked and remain that way until both have traveled a short distance to the rear under recoil. After this brief trip, the barrel is cammed downward and disengages with the slide, permitting full-recoil travel of the slide to extract and eject the spent round. When the slide is returned forward by the dual recoil spring, it strips off a fresh round from the magazine. The barrel then cams up to reengage it, and the pistol returns to battery.

The LCP has a manual hold-open latch built into the left frame. Underscore the word "manual." When the last shot is fired from a magazine, the latch will not automatically snap up to hold the slide open. The magazine itself holds six .380-caliber cartridges and is not interchangeable with any other Ruger pistol mags. When fully forward, the hammer of the pistol is tucked completely into the slide, which features a viewing port that shows the presence of alive round in the chamber.

Nothing protrudes to snag on clothing or the inner lining of a woman’s purse. The LCP is striker-fired and double-action-only. It measures about 5 inches from back of grip frame to the It may change a few minds about the suitability of Ruger pistols for concealed carry. muzzle, 3/4 of an inch wide, and weighs all of 10 ounces empty. So much for the idea that all Ruger pistols are heavy and bulky. Field Stripping The Ruger LCP is simple to operate and simple to work on’as you’re about to discover.

But first, as always,

make sure it’s unloaded. Start by depressing its latch and removing the magazine. Lock the slide back with the manual hold-open by racking the slide almost all the way to the rear and pushing upward on the latch. (The dual recoil springs can make moving and holding the slide to the rear a little tough.) Moving the slide farther to the rear disengages the latch, and the slide will ride forward on its own.

It requires a jeweler’s screwdriver or other blunt tool to start the takedown pin out of the frame to the left, after which you can pull the pin out with your fingertips. Remove the slide assembly to the front and invert it. Compress the recoil springs to disengage them from the barrel lug and lift them out with the guide. When removing the barrel, it’s necessary to push it forward slightly before swinging it down and then back to withdraw it from the slide.

Detailed Disassembly Before getting too deeply into this phase, there are a couple of errors on the schematic contained in the owner’s manual that I should point out. The trigger spring is numbered 26, while the hammer-catch spring is numbered 16. They are reversed in the drawing in the manual, but cor- The .380-caliber pistol is doubleaction only. rectly identified on the parts list.

The correction has been made on the drawing shown here; the trigger spring is really part number 16 and the hammer catch spring part 26. Okay? The tools required for complete disassembly will include a 1/16- and a 1/8-inch drift punch, a 3/32-inch roll-pin punch, a plastic hammer, a hooked dental tool, the previously mentioned jeweler’s screwdriver, a small magnet, and your own version of a factory tool they use to reinstall the hammer catch (#27) and its spring (#26).

The factory tool or your own homemade version of it is a requirement due to the lack of working space within the frame. You can make a tool similar to the one used at the factory by simply grinding the lower jaw of a pair of long-nose pliers to the contour shown in the accompanying photos. You’ll use this tool to hold the catch and spring together while inserting them as described later on. I chose not to take a grinder to my good-quality pliers.

Instead, I bought a set of ignition tools at a local auto-parts store and ground the pliers it contained. These cheap ignition pliers were actually thinner than my long-nosed pliers and gave me a bit more room to work inside. I suppose these two components could be placed in the frame without a special tool, but you’d have to have the world’s skinniest fingers to get it done. I don’t. The first item to come out of the slide is the extractor (#5).

Insert your jeweler’s screwdriver behind the part and flex it outwards. There’s a hole in the slide and the extractor plunger (#4). Using the 1/16-inch punch or the dental tool, insert your choice into both holes to capture the extractor spring (#3). Keep it captured and use your fingers or the magnet to remove the extractor. Now invert the slide. The firingpin retainer (#2) is a roll pin. The 3/ 32-inch roll-pin punch will be needed to move it.

Place a finger or a strip of tape over the firing-pin slot at the rear of the slide. Don’t drift the retainer completely out to the top of the slide, only enough to clear the pin’s cut in the back end of the firing pin (#7). When you’ve gone far enough, the firing-pin spring (#6) will push the pin to the rear and you can withdraw them simultaneously from the slide. Since both the front and rear sights are permanently integrated, the slide has been taken down as far as you can take it. Now we’ll tackle the frame.

At the back, just above the hammer-spring seat (#34), you’ll see a "tombstoneshaped" hole. A tab on the spring seat fits into this hole. With the frame upside down, insert the end of the 1/ 16-inch punch in the hole, depress the tab, and carefully pry upwards to start out the seat. Your fingers should be able to pull it clear of the grip frame. This will expose the hammerspring seat pin (#33), and you’ll be able to see how the hammer spring (#25) engages it.

Remember what you see, as well as how the seat pin "sits" inside the frame. Reach into the LCP’s magazine well with the dental tool, latch onto the spring, lift it off the pin, and turn it. There’s no need to drift out the seat pin. It doesn’t drift, but will drop from the frame when it’s positioned right side up. Your next targets are the front and rear frame-insert pins (#29). These are

high-density polymer and call for the 1/8-inch punch applied from right to left. After pushing upward on the trigger, the frame insert can be removed. On the insert’s right side is the trigger bar (#18), among other things. Place your thumb or a finger over the trigger spring (#16) and lift off the bar. The hammer pivot (#17) can be drifted in either direction for removal of the hammer (#23) and hammer spring.

Unless damage is present, there’s no real need to remove the hammerspring retainer (#22), which is another roll pin. Invert the insert. Move the trigger (#13) forward within the guard. There’s a slot in the trigger’s rear. The slot leads to a hole in the top of the trigger. The trigger pin (#14) fits into that hole. Use the 1/ 16-inch punch in the trigger slot to start the pin out, and then change the position of the insert to push the pin clear.

To save a little time now (and later), lift the trigger spring and trigger pivot (#15) from the insert as a unit and let them remain a unit. The takedownpin detent (#20) is really a spring.

Use the jeweler’s screwdriver or the dental tool to pop it out of Ruger LCP .380 ACP Semi-Automatic Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Slide* 2 Firing Pin Retainer 3 Extractor Spring 4 Extractor Plunger 5 Extractor 6 Firing Pin Spring 7 Firing Pin 8 Guide Rod 9 Recoil Spring, Inner 10 Recoil Spring, Outer 11 Barrel* 12 Frame Insert 13 Trigger 14 Trigger Pin 15 Trigger Pivot 16 Trigger Spring 17 Hammer Pivot Pin 18 Trigger Bar 19 Hold-Open 20 Takedown Pin Detent 21 Hold Open Detent 22 Hammer Spring Retainer Pin 23 Hammer 24 Grip Frame 25 Hammer Spring 26 Hammer Catch Spring 27 Hammer Catch 28 Magazine Latch Catch 29 Frame Insert Pin (2) 30 Takedown Pin 31 Hammer Catch Pin 32 Magazine Latch Spring 33 Hammer Spring Seat Pin 34 Hammer Spring Seat 35 Magazine, Complete *Factory fitting required

its groove on the insert. Be sure to cover the detent with a finger before you do any popping. The upper rear of the hold-open (#19) serves as the ejector for the LCP. Your dental tool will lift the holdopen detent (#21)"another spring" away and you take out both components individually. Before drifting the hammer-catch pin (#31) from the right, study how the catch and its spring (#26) mesh together and memorize what you see. Keep the dental tool in hand.

The magazine latch (#28) is held in the grip frame by the latch spring (#32). Extract the spring with the tool and withdraw the latch to the right. You now have a totally naked gun on your bench. (Isn’t gunsmithing exciting?) Reassembly Tips The trigger goes back in from the bottom of the insert. The trigger pivot enters from the right, with the long leg of the trigger spring facing forward.

The trigger pin holes in the trigger and trigger pivot must be aligned prior to inserting the pin, which can be tapped down with a punch to fully seat it (if it needs seating). Slide the hammer assembly in from the bottom, and Above and install the hammer-pivot pin. Lay the trigger bar into its grip-frame recess with the rear of the bar over the hammer-pivot pin and the front of the bar impaled on the stud of the trigger pivot.

Place a finger over the rear end of the bar, and rotate the long leg of the trigger spring back and into its groove under the bar. Now for the hammer catch, hammer-catch spring, and that special tool we made earlier. Lay the catch flat on your bench. Insert the bent leg of the spring into the small, upper hole in the catch. Grasp the two components in the jaws of the tool to maintain their relationship.

The hole in the insert for the catch pin and the matching one in the catch have to be aligned when you position the catch within the insert using the tool. Now push in the catch pin. Before reinstalling the insert in the frame, in- I stall the take-down detent (spring). Also, there’s a small hole above the hammer on the right side of the insert. Push the hammer catch forward and insert a punch or straightened-out paper clip in the hole to maintain the forward position.

Press the insert down in the grip frame until it seats, and then install the front and rear insert pins. Pull out the punch or paper clip restraining the catch. It will snap to the rear under spring tension. Flip the frame upside down. Place the hammer-spring seat back on its "shelves" in the magazine well. Reach inside with the dental tool, hook the spring, pull it upward, and release it over the pin.

Place your thumb on the face of the hammer to protect the insert while you pull the trigger for a proper function check. When the pistol cycles, you can consider everything to be in proper order. Place the hammer at half cock, and push the hammer-spring seat into the magazine well until it snaps in place. Finally, reassemble the slide assembly and mate it with the gripframe assembly, and’presto!"the naked gun has been transformed back into a Ruger LCP.